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SPEECH 

OP 



^Mr.,h1yn"e, 



BELirEIlED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 

ON THE 

Mi^^ion to Jlaina^niar^ 

Jlarch, 1826. 



The following' resolution submitted by the Commit 
tee of Forei,a^n Relations, bein^ under consideration — 

" /iesolved. That it is not expedient, at this time, for 
the United States to send any Ministers to the Congress 
of American nations, assembled at Panama :" — 

Mr. HAYNE, of South Carolina, addressed the Sen- 
ate, in substance, as follows : 

If T could concur, Mr. President, with those gentle- 
men who believe that the question o? sending^ Ministers 
to represent the United States at the Cong-ressof Pana» 
raa, was one of very little consequence, I should certain- 
ly not trouble the Senate with any remarks upon the 
subject — tor thoug"!! I should consider this as a conclu- 
sive arg-ument ag-ainst t:e mission, yet if, in fact, we were 
now called upon to take a part in an ^mpty .pageant, or 
an idle teremony -if (to borrow- the language used 
elsewhere) our Ministers are merely to present " an im- 
posing spectacle to the eyes of the world"-r-I should con- 
tent vnyself with giving a silent thoug^h decided_vote 
against the measure. But the question presents itself to 
my mind, in an aspect extremely different. It does ap. 
pear to me, that whatever may be the result of this mis- 
sion, it cannot possibly be indifferent ; it is a measure of 
the most decisive character, and one that cannot fail to 
produce the most important results. It touches the neu- 
tral relations of the United States in a contest of a pe- 
culiar nature, towards which the attention of the whole 
civilizf^d world is anxiously t'irned, and in which their 
feelings and interests are most deeply involved. It 




,' : '£4^'' 



*#"W 






concerns the part we shall act towards the belligerenls 
in the great contest which has so long desolated the 
South American hemisphere a contest of which neither 
the nations of Europe nor ourselves have been uncon- 
cerned spectators, though they have so far escaped be- 
ing drawn into the vortex Happily for us, and most 
happily for the South Americans, this strict neutrality 
en the part of other nations, has left to the youthful vi- 
g'or of the new Republics, a slow but certain triumph 
over their common enemy, and nothing is now wanting 
to the establishment of their independence on an im- 
mutable basis, but that there should be no interference 
whatever in their concerns. Left to themselves, their 
liberties are secure. In seeking foreign assistance, they 
are committing a fatal errcr^iand as greviously mistake 
their own best interests as We vi^ill mistake our duties^ 
should we comply with their wishes. 

I regard this question, therefore, as one of the last 
importance, no; only to the new States, but to our- 
selves, because I consider it as based on an entire change 
of the neutral position which we have hitherto so hap- 
pily occupied in the contest between Spain and her co- 
lonies — a change that may not only involve us in tiie 
struggle, but may be fatal in its consequennesto those 
whom we are most anxious to serve. 

In order to decide on the expediency of the proposed 
mission to the Congress 'i' Panama, and to ascertain how 
it may affect our neutrality, it is necessary to determine, 
in the first pl^ce, the character of that Congress. And 
here I shall take it for gr-nted, thai the character of the 
Congress will, in no degree, be affected by the insiruc- 
ticns which may be given to our Ministers, but can only 
be ascertained from its declared and acknowledged ob- 
jects. It is from the documents, published to the world, 
and from these alone, that the public can know the pur- 
poses for which this Congress is to be assi mbied. These 
must stamp its character as jfeaceful or belligerent in the 
estimation of mankind. Now, on this branch of the sub- 
ject, we are most fortunately furnished with information,- 
authentic, full, and perfectly satisfactory; information, 
not possessed by us alone, but which has been published 
to all the world. — The following are the sources from 
whence we derive our knowledge as to the character 
and objects of the Congress of Panama — sources equally 
open to evi- ry naton in Europe : — 

1st. A work on the necessity of a general federation 
of the South American Stat s, published at L.ma in 1825, 
by Bernardo MonteagiidOi Minister of State and Foreign 
Affairs of Peru, &c. 



ll-^-Afd 



2fl. Bolivar's circular and proclamation. 

3d The conventions between five of tlie Spanish A- 
merican Republics, under ivhichXhe Congress is tibout to 
^assemble. 

4eli. The communication in t!ie ©fiicial Gazette of 
Colornbia, in February l^st, of" some of the specificpoints 
wiiich are to form the subjects of the deliberations of 
the Congress. 

From these combined sources we will be enabled to 
derive the most satisfnctory and cojicJiisive information, 
as to the true character of the Cong'r.^ss; and, when that 
shall be ascertained, tiie task will be easy to how what 
effect must be produced on our relations towards Spain 
by our akin,^ any part in the deliberations of that assem- 

From the work oi J^fontea^udo, (an abstract of which 
will be fodnd in t!ie last number of the North American 
Review) it appears that the project of a confederacy of 
the South American States was conceived as early as 
1821; that, in 1823, Bolivar, as P' esident of Colombia, 
inv ted M xico Peru, Chili and Cuenos Ayres '* to send 
**dle£cate3 to Panama, v/ith tkt express desig-n of es- 
*' tablishing- a confederacy.'* In December, 1824, con- 
ceiving tliat the period had now arrived for carrying- this 
g-reat oi^ject into effect, he issued a circular, proposing" 
to the new States hat delegates shoidd ''immediately be 
*'sent to Panama by those. ^'>overnmerits, which had a- 
** greed to joiisr ix the confepehact;" and he there 
oh iracteriz s th meetmg- as one " which was to serve 
*' as a couisrsEL to -lis in our distresses^* — (which can only 
mean, to advise t :ern how to carry on the war, so as to 
bring it to a successful issue,) "and to be a rai.i,¥ing 
** POINT in our common dangers;" (in other words, to 
furnish the means of making a successful sta?^/ against 
the common enemy, old Spain, by equipping fleets and 
raising armies, and by furnishing respectively their con- 
tingent of men, arms, and money.) The author of this 
work was a man of uncommon talent and great inBuence, 
who not only. filled th.e station of Minister of Stale in 
Peru, but, in behalf of that State, negotiated and signed 
the convention with Colombia, in relation to this very 
business. His authority, therefore, is entitled to great 
weight, on a question with which he was so iaitimately 
acquainted, Ke sums up, in two lines, the duties of the 
Congress, and informs us it is designed to give "ij-^de- 
"pendenck, peace, and secuhity, to the new states." 
Independence to, colonies engag d in a contest with the 
mother country for its establishment— P«?ace, to nations 



actually involved in war — Security, to those who are ex. 
posed to all the casualties of invasion from abroad and 
convulsions witliin. And how are these objects so be 
atiained? The answer is obvious, and is given by all the 
documents before us: By alliances, offensive and de- 
fensive ; by which each State stipulates to make a com- 
mon cause, and to furnish their respective quotas of men, 
of money, and of arms. 

On this point, nothin.<^ sliall he left to conjecture or 
inference. I will produce the hig-hest possible evidence 
— evidence whicli must satisfy the most sceptical as to 
the true charcter of tiie Panama CJong'ress. The States 
represented there have entered into formal treaties — 
and it is under these solemn Conventions, that this Con- 
gress is assembled. Under the call made upon the 
President by the Senate on the 3d of January last, he 
has submitted to us conventions between 

The Republic of Colombia and that of Chili, 

The Uepubllc of Colombia and Peru, 

The Republic of Colombia and the Federation of the 
Centre of America, and 

The Republic of Colombia and the United Mexican 
States. 

On looking" into these conventions, (some of which 
were entered into as early as 1822, and one as late as 
September 1825) we discover that in the execution of 
the plan of the Liberator, of uniting ail the Spanish 
American States into " one gheat confederactt," he 
has succeded in forming- among them treaties of alliance, 
ofiTensive and d-gfensive, in peace, and in war, and the 
Congress of Panama grows out of, and is the first fruit 
of that alliance. It is in fact a Congress of Confederat- 
ed belligerent States, convened for the great purpose 
of bringing the war, by their combined efforts, to a 
speedy and successful termination, and at the same time, 
of establishing a plan of general co-operation, in all cases 
woaisoever. These assertions I shall establish beyond 
the possibility of a doubt, by a brief reference to those 
conventions. 

In the convention between Colombia and Chili, we 
find the following provisions: 

By the first article, it is declared that '« the Republic 
*' of Colombia ajid the State of Chili, are united, bound, 
•* and confederated^ in peace a?idrt<ar,o maintain their in- 
" fluence and forces, by sea and land — as far as cu'Cum. 
"stances permit — their independence of the Spanish nation^ 
'• and of any other foreign domination whatsoever. " 



By tiie second article, these two States *' contract a 
'* league of close alliance for the common defence— hv the 
•' security of their indedendence and liberty, for their 
** r ciprocal and g-eneral good, and for their internal 
" tranquillity, obliging themselves to succor each o^Aer.and 
" to repel in common, every attack or invasion, which 
** may in any manner threaten their political exist- 
"ence." 

By the 3d article It is declared, " the TJepublic of Co- 
** lombia binds itself to assist, with the disposable sea 
" and land forces; of which the number, or its equivalent, 
shall be fixe'l at a meeting' of plenipotentiaries ." 

Then follow the 13th and \4X\\ articles, under which 
the Congress at Panama is about to assemble. 13th. 
*' Bot : parties oblige themselves to interpose their 
" good offices with the Governments of the other States 
" of America, formerly Spanish, to enter into this com- 
♦'pACT OF UNION, LEAGUE, and CONFEDERATION;" and 14th, 
" As soon as this great and important object has 
'* been attained, a general assembly of American 
" states shali be convened [at Panama as subsequent- 
" ly stated] composed of their plenipotentiaries, with the 
" tiiarge of cementing, in the most solid and stable 
*' manner, the intimate relations which ought to exist 
*' between all and every one of them, and which may 
" serve as a council in the great conflict, as a ral- 
*' LViNG POINT in the common dangers, as a faithful in- 
*' terpreter of the public treaties when difficulties oc- 
" cur, and as an umpire and conciliator in their disputes 
"and differences.'* 

Now, sir, in all the other conventions, similar, and in 
some of them even stronger language is held. They 
all provide for alliances, offensive and defensive, for the 
purpose of bringing the present war against Spain to a 
conclusion, by furnishing their quotas of men, mo- 
ney, and ships ; and they all stipulate that as soon as the 
"alliance shall become gen^i-ral this PanamaCongress 
is to be canve?ied, as tiie first step to betaken under it. It 
is the " GREAT COUNCIL*' of these belligerent States, and 
will of course be perpetual, or at all events, will have a 
duration equal to that of the Gonfeleracy itself. (Mr. 
H. here referred minutely to all the conventions, and 
argued from them sn support of his position.) The last 
document to which 1 shall refer, is the Official Gazette 
of Colombia, of February last, in which the objects of 
the Congress are thus stated : 

" 1. To form a. 'solemn compact, or league, by -iuhich the 
StaieSf lokose Representatives are present, will be bound 



to unite in prosecntiiig the ivar against their commoii ene- 
my, old Spain, or ag-ainst any other power, which shall 
asyst pain in her hostile desig-ns, or any otherwise as- 
sume the altitude of an enemy. 

2. To dr iw up and publish a manifesto, setting forth 
to the world the jiistice of their cause, and the relations 
they desire to hold with other Christian powers. 

3. To form a convention of navigation and commerce, 
applicable both to the confederated States, and to their 
allies. 

4. To consider the expediency of combinin,^ the forces 
of the Republics, to free the Islands of Puerto Rico and 
Cuba from the yoke of Spai7i, and, in such case,7vhat con- 
iingent each ought to contribute for this end. 

3, To take measures for joining in a prosecution oF 
the war at sea, and on the coasts of Spain. 

6. To determine whether these measures shall also 
be extended to the Canary and Phillipine islands 

7. To take into consideration the means of making 
effectual the declaralion of the President of the United 
States, respecting any ulterior design of a foreign power 
to colonize any portion of this continent, and also the 
means of resisting ail interference from abroad with the 
domestic concerns of the American Governments. 

8. To settle, by common consent, the principles of 
those rights of nations, which are in their nature contro- 
vertible. 

9. To determine on what footing shall be placed the 
political and commercial relations of those portions of 
our hemisphere, which have obtained, or shall obtain, 
their independence, but whose independence has not 
been recognized by any American or European power, 
as was for many years the case with Hayti.'* 

F om these documents no man can deny that the Con- 
gress of Panama is to be composed of deputies from bel- 
ligerent States, and that its objects are essentially bellicceV' 
tnt. These objects are not concealed, but are publicly 
avowed, and kuownto the world. It is to be an assem- 
bly of confederates, differing very little from the old 
Congress under our A tides of Confederation, to which, 
indeed, it bears a striking resemblance. 

The question now arises whether a neutral State can 
join in such a council without violating its neutrality ? 
Can the United States lawfully send deputies to a Con- 
gress of the confederated Spanish American States? — a 
C5>itgress which net only has objects confessedly connect- 
ed with the prosecution of the War, but when it is no- 
torious, that tliese belligerent objects create the very 



occasion of its assembling ? Can we do so without de* 
parting- from our neutral relations towards Spain ? Is it 
possible, Mr. President, that this can be seriously ques- 
tioned ? It will not b ar an argument. There can be 
no difference under the Law of Nations — for there is 
no ne in reason or justice — between aiding a belligerent 
in souncil ov in action — between consulting with him in 
res pect to belligerent measures, or furnishing the men 
and money to accomplish them. To afford to such a 
Congress as I have shown this at Panama to be, even the 
lights' of our wisdom and experience — to enter into con- 
sultations with them as to the means of bringing the 
contest to a speedy and successful issue — to advise with 
them how to proceed and when to proceed — (and it ap- 
pears from the documents that we are quite ready with 
our advice in these respects,) unquestionably must be 
a total departure from our neutrality. It is no answer 
to this argument to say, that our Ministers, when they 
take their seats, and become members of the Congress, 
will not interfere in the discussion of belligerent ques- 
tions, and will confine themselves exclusively to those 
which are in their nature, peaceful. If the character of 
the Congress is belligerent — no neutral can lawfully be 
there. If, for any purpose whatever, questions con- 
nected with the further prosecution of the war are to be 
there discussed and decided, our Ministers cannot take 
their seats in the Assembly without involving us, by that 
very act, in the contest. A strict and honorable neu- 
trality, must keep us out of any meeting not having 
peaceful objects exclusively. The Law of Nations in 
this respect, cannot differ from those rules of municipal 
law, founded in the co.nmon sense of mankind — which 
involve, in a common guilt, all who associate with those 
engaged in any unlawful enterprise--, it is not permitted 
to indsviduals, nor can it be permtted to Nations, to ex- 
cuse themselves for acting with those engaged in belli- 
gerent enterps izes, by alleging that their own purposes 
are peaceful. Sir, I hold that if you go into counsel at 
ftll with such powers, you become answerable for all 
their acts. At this moment a case occurs to me that took 
place many years ago, in Eiigland, and which affords an 
apt illustration of this principle. T^ord Dacres, a young 
nobleman of wild and irregular habits, associated him- 
self with a party who were engaged in robbing a Park — ■ 
one of that party, without the knowledg-e or consent of 
Lord Dacres, killed the Game Keeper. His Lordship 
was taken up, and tried for the murder; and though 
probably as innocent of tha toffence as either of us, he 



8 



was, according: to the laws of England, found guilty,, 
No rank or influence could save him — -he perished on 
the gallows — a victim to the -strict, though necessary, 
ru'e^ which involves in a comnion fate, all who associate 
and act with others engaged in any unlawful pursuit 

But an atlempt is mad;; to remove all our apprehen- 
sions on this subject, (and it comes from a high quarter 
too,) by the assurance that Spain is just about to ac- 
knowledge the independence of her former Colonies, 
wider oier inedialion. The Secretary of State, in his re- 
port which accompanies the Presiderat's Message of the 
9th January, in answer to our call tor information, trans- 
mits a mass of documents to show that our Government 
has invoked the aid of Russia— that the Emperor has in- 
terfered at our request, and that there is a flattering 
prospect of speedy and entire success So says Mr. 
Middleton — so says Mr. Clay. But, Mr. President, it 
fortunately happens tiiat the Senate, on the 30th Janu- 
ary, made another call fov information on this point, and 
the- answer of he President, of the 1st February, dispels 
the illusion entirely. The three letters of Mr. Everett 
there disclosed, demonstrate that there is no hope, 
whatever, of a peace. Tiie Minister of the Spanish Go- 
vernment, (Mr. Zea,) declares tjvat the determination of 
the King, on that subject, is unalterable— ha will stand 
upon his naked right, and look to Providence, should all 
other mean"" fail. But this is not all. TheRussianMinister 
concurs in the views of Mr. Zea, and the British Minis- 
ter will not interfere. In short, it is proved by these 
documents ;hat all hope of a peace is entirely at an end. 
The hopes raised by the message of th' 9\\\ January, are 
taus totally crushed by that of the 1st February. This 
no gentleman will now question.* 

It has been well remarked by the Committee, in their 
Report, tliat no nation (unless I'estrained by their weak- 
ness) ever permitted such an interference, as we are 



*The important letters of the 15th and 27th July, 1825, from 
Mr. Middleton to Mr. Clay, and of 25th D( cember, 1825, from 
]Mr. Clay to Mr. Middleton, are 7iot communicated to the House 
of Representatives. Mr. Everett's three very importam let- 
ters are also not commnnicated — while some of his subsequent 
letters xvere commuviicated — which last the Senate did not re- 
ceive until alter their final decision on the question b< lore 
them. The documents before the Senate, proved beyond a 
doubt, that there \^as no prospect oi' peace, and though this 
fact does not appear from the documents transmitted to the 
House of Representatives, yet it is not contradicted by them. 



9 



about to atteii^pt, without redressing- the wronpf by war. 
And surely, sir, we are not to be called upon to violate 
our neutral obligations towards Spain — because Spain is 
Aveak. If a sense of justice, and a due regard to our 
own character and our interests, should not restrain us 
irom a measure of that kind, perhaps we may be influ- 
enced by the consideration, that a violation of neutral- 
ity on our part, may lead to similar violations on t'ue part 
of tjie powers of Europe, and that we may thus be the 
means of destro}ing those whom we mean to serve and 
hope to stve. 

But there is another question arising out of this, and 
almost of equul imporfance. What is to be the mode of 
the organization and action o'^ this Congress ? What is 
to be the nature oi the poiuers to be given to our Minis- 
ters? And what are the subjects to be discussed ? Sure- 
ly all of these are questions of the most vital importance; 
and whether the character of the Congress be belliger- 
ent or peaceful, they must be satisfactorily answered be- 
fore any man who has a due regard for the welfare of 
his country, should consent to take a single step in a 
business of this delicate nature. 1'his was the view of 
the subject originally taken by the President himself, as 
appears from the documents on our tables In Mr. 
Clav*s letter to Mr. Obregon, dated 30th November, 
1825, he says — ** When at your instance, during the last 
" Spring, I had the honor, &c. of conferring with yoa 
*• verbally, in regard to the proposed Congress, Stc. I 
" stated to you, by direction of the President, that it ap- 
" peared to him to be necessary, before the asseinbling 
*' of such a Congress, to settle between the different 
** powers to be represented, several preliminary points, 
** such as the subjects to * hich the attention of the 
*' Congress should be directed, the substance and form 
** of the powers to be given to the respective REPUESEif- 
*' TATivES, and the mode of organizing the Congress, 
** and that, if these points should be sati-.factorily arran- 
" ged, the President would be disposed to accept, in 
*^ behalf of the United States, the invitation with which 
*' which yovi -were provisionally charged." The ground 
here assumed by the Administration has my most un- 
qualified approbation. I yield my hearty assent to the 
position, that information on all these points was neces- 
sary—yes, absolutely and indispensably necessary ^-b' fore 
we could prudently take a single step in the business. 
But, sir, tliis ground has been altogether abandonedj 
and for reasons with which we have not been favor- 
ed. The President has determined at once to send 



10 



Commissioners to the Cong^ress at Panama—without 
having obtained any information whatever on three ot 
the points before deemed necessary, and on the other 
having- received only parlial, imperfect,and contradictory 
statements. As to "the substance" and "thet"(;rm'* 
of the poxvers to be f^iven to the " Representat ves," and 
the mode of the * org-anizalion of the Congress*' — we 
are without a particle of information — and in respect to 
*' th^ subjects to be discussed," a few of them are speci- 
fied, (ana important enough they cevtainly are ) Vfhiie, as 
to the ret, we are left to searcii for them in tlie reg-ions 
of conjecture. If die PreMdent was risjrb.t in ihe fust in- 
stance, he must be wrong" no'-v^. To my mind, it is clear 
that he then took the true Constitutional ground — and 
havi'g abandoned it without any reason, I cannot con- 
sent to go W'th him. Gentlemen whose faith in Execu- 
tive infa!lii)i!ity is great.-r than mine, may be satisfied 
that tlie President must alwajs be right; but. for my 
own part, I require either facts or argument before I 
can yield my assent to any measure whaisoever,and espe- 
cially to such as are novel in their character and impor- 
tant in their consequences. I stand here to advise the 
President, independently, and according to my convic- 
tions of the policy or impolicy of the measures he may 
recommend, and I cannot conscientiously advise this 
mission, utitd full and satisfactory information is obtiin- 
ed nn these points, which the Executive formerly deem- 
ed necessary, and which I still so consider. 

It is true, Mr. President, that, although we have not 
been furnished with this necessary information, yet, in re- 
lation to the orgaf ization and action of the Congress, we 
are enabled to glean a few facts from the correspondence 
before us, which shed some light upon tlie subject, and 
eshioit the Congress in no very favorable point of view. 

It is to be X Congress a deliberative Assembly, 
composed of Deputies, with undefined powers; it is 
called in the conventions— " a great Council;" and 
though the members in some places are called "Pleni- 
potentiaries," yet, in others, they receive different appel- 
lations; and Mr. Clay himself, in one place, considers 
them as " Representatives," and elsewhere describes 
them as *' Commissioners." They cannot be "Ambassa- 
dors :" for they are not to go accredited to any sovereign 
State. They will not be ministers to Colombia, within 
whose territory the Congress is to be convened; they 
must present their credentials to the Co'ngreas itself, by 
who^i their validity must be decided on, and the mem- 
bers admitted to their seats. U is only by the special 



11 



provisions of the '* Conventions" that the deputies could 
claim liii* privileg-esand imiiiuvuties if" Ambussadurs, and 
as no such stipulations iiave been m'ade in our tavorj it 
follows, that our deputies will be indebte.' even for pro- 
tection to tlie Congre-s of which thev are to be mem- 
bers. In what form the deliberations are to be conduct- 
ed, we know not, but we are expressly told that their 
dehberations may be "confidential;'* and 1 infer from a 
provisi n which autViorizes a chanji^'e in the place of 
meeting " with ihe consent of a majority of the States" 
that tht-y will vote by States, and thut a majority will 
govern. Mr. Salazai tells us expressly that "Tf^e may 
form an Err-ivTUAL alltance for certain purposes to re- 
main secret'^ — and adds, ** that the conferences held on 
this subje t, being confidential, vjonXd incresisp mutual 
friendship and promote the respective interests of the 
parties." 

The Powers which the ministers are to bear, are,both 
in respect to form and substance, altogether undefined i 
but we are told by Mr. Obregon that the ministers of 
Mexico will ca^ry with them "full po-wers" — and it is 
expected " that the ministers of other States will do the 
same." A few of the subjects to be discussed are stat- 
ed; but, with respect to the others, we are told by Mr. 
Salazar, that those '^specified, being given by -way of ex- 
ample, it is left to the wisdom of the Governments and 
the judgment of the Representatives, to propose what- 
ever may be for tiie common good." And again he 
says, thdt "the points will arise out of the deliberations.'* 
Judging, therefore, from the information afforded us, 
it appears that our ministers are to go as " Representa- 
tives,*-" accredited not to sovereign States, but to "a Con- 
gress" of Deputies — that they are to have seats in "a 
great council"— that they are to bear "full powers** — ■ 
that the subjects* to be discussed are '"to grow out of 
the deliberations,*' and are to be ''suggested by the 



* The President, in his Message to the House of Represent- 
atives, says, " 1 can scarcely <leera it otherwise than superflu- 
ous to observe, that the Assembly will be in its nature diplo- 
matic, an'i not legislative," and then goes on to explain the 
mode of its organiza ion and action. A'o such information -was 
before the Senate. The documents before them proved that 
the President bad ir.sisted on obtaining information on those 
very points as preliminary to his acceptance, and had failed to 
obtain it. Certainly the Senate had no such information — and 
the documents "before them, went to show that the Congress 
ivas legislative and not dix)lomatic. 



12 



judgments of the Representatives ;" that tbe delibera- 
tions are to be, in Sf>me instances, secret and "confi- 
de <ti. I'* — and tliat "eventual alliances to remain se- 
cret,' aie in contemplation ; but beyond this, we are 
left entirely iw the dark. The question then recurs, 
shall we consent to go into secret council, (supposing 
all the objects of that council, as far as we are acquainted 
with them, to he peaceful,') while these important points 
remain unsettled. If we are kept in ignorance, the fault 
is not in the Senate. We have diligently sought for 
light, and it has been denied us. Sir, it is too manifest 
to be doubted or questioned, tha the course we are now- 
called upon to pursue, does involve a departure from the 
settle %ihe fundamental pohcy of these U. States; and is an 
entire abandonment of the neutral position taken by our 
Government in the contest between Spain and her colo- 
nies — a position from which we have derived much hon- 
or, and which has been fruitful of such happy consequen- 
ces to the South American States. 

But we are told that we ought to have confidence in 
the President. We are assured that his instructions to 
our ministers ^"^ ill save us from all danger. Sir, I care 
not what instructions the President shall think proper to 
give to our ministers. The character of the Congress 
being bellig-vent, our neutrality is forfeited by the ve- 
ry act of joining in their deliberations. Instructions being 
from theirnature, as well as from diplomatic usage, se- 
cret, can have no influence in determining a question of 
neutrality — that must be decided by acts, not by profes- 
sion«'. However gentlemen may be enamouied of this 
new doctrine of implicit confidence in rulers, it is not 
the ground, I apprehend, which the Senate ought to no 
act in fulfilling their constitutional duty of giving advice 
to t- e President. If we are to act by faith, and not by 
knowledge, we have no business to be here. Besides, 
sir, I am free to confe-s, and will presently shew, that 
some of the views of the Administration itself, in re- 
spect to this misssion,and the | art we are expected to take 
in he deliberations of the Congress, are dangerovis to 
the peace and safety of this country. But, after all, is it 
sound constitutional doctrine that we are, by our previous 
sanction \o \h.Q President's measures — (by the vote of a 
bare majority, and not of two-thirds, as required by the 
Constitution,) to put it in his power to commit irretrievea- 
bly the neutrality of the United States. Sanction this mis- 
sion, and the peace of this country us, in the most favor- 
able view of the subject, in the hands of the President. 
Suppose his instructions, on the very points wdiich he 



'1 ■."> 



i-eHs yon are to be discussed, should direct our nunisters 
to j6in in all the belUgerent counsels of ihe Congress, to 
advise and arrange with them the plan of carrying on 
the war, and wresting Cuba and Porto Rico from the 
hands of the common enemy — where will be your neu- 
trality then ? It is idle to talk of the control that we 
may exercise, by rejecting treaties, which, by our own 
previous consent, we may be morally bound lo sanction, 
or when measures shall have been taken and acts con- 
summated beyond recall. But the ap'preliensions of 
some gehyem«niare quieted by the assurance that the 
ministers of the States which have invited us have them- 
selves expressly declared that we are not " expected to 
violate our neutrality.** Words, sir; words, merely! 
This assurance furnishes 4is with a memorable Example 
of how little reliance is to be placed on professions^^-- 
the professions, too, of diplomatists! They very well 
understand how to ^ay one thing while they mean ano- 
ther. Every one of these Spanish American ministers 
-^Obregon, Salazar, and C&n^iS-^profess that we are hot 
expected to depart fronri Our neutraiitx^, while each of 
ihem spedjies objeiots m which we are expected to take 
part, and which "clo involve a distinct and lin^qiiivocai 
depa'rture from our neutrality. F(.r the sake of exam- 
ple, (for all the invitations speak the same language) I 
will refer to the letter of Mr. Canas to' Mr. Clay, dated 
I4th November, 1825. After stating that the Govern- 
tnent he represents (CentrarAmerica) " waS sensible of 
" the importance to the independent nations o? this co?i' 
** tineyit, of a' general congress of their representatives, 
** at some central point, wliich might considei" and 
**ad6:pfthe best plan of defending the States of the 
" New" World from' foreign aggression," and stating that 
his Government also acknowledged *' that, as JSuro/ie 
*' had formed a continentaL system, and held a Congress 
'* whenever questions aflecting its interests were to fee 
*' discussed, AMttiici should;/6r/» a system to itself, and 
''assemble in Cortes whenever circumstances of ne- 
•' cessity and great importance should demand it,*' he 
goes on to state, that his Government had "formed a 
convention" on the subject, and appointed '*^iis depu- 
ties," smd he then says to us, **l am anxious, therefore, 
*• to know if this Republic, (the United States) whidi 
*• has ever shown itself the generous friend of the new 
'* American States, is disposed to s-enU its envoys: to tlie 
** General Congress, the object fif tvhich is, to preserve 
" and confirm the absolute independence of these Republics^ 
'■^'dnd to promote the ffeiie^^l p-oo'd, and r^-hich will not re - 



14 

*« quire that the representatives of the United StStes 
" should, in the least, conpromit their present neutrality^ 
" harmony, and good intelligence with other nations.' 
Mr. Clay accepts the invitation thus given, without any 
limitation whatever. Can any man read this letter, and 
pretend that we can comply with the wishes of the 
writer and save ©ur neutrality ? 

Having, I trust, proved that, from the character ot the 
Congress of Panama, we cannot send deputies there 
without departing from our neutrality, and that, if this 
point could be considered as doubtful, still the ignor- 
ance in which we are left of the mode of the organiza- 
tion of the Congress, its manner of proceeding, and the 
form and substance of the powers of the representatives, 
should constitute a decisive inducement to abstain from 
involving ourselves in such a measure, I proceed next 
to consider THE subjects to be discussed b> that Con- 
gress, and in which it is avowed that we are expected to 
take a part. 

And here, Mr President, I willinsist, that, if this mis« 
^«ion were liable to none of these objections, there is 
not a single object specified in the invitations and an- 
swers, or in the message of the President, which would 
justify the measure proposed. They are all either danger- 
ous, or inexpedient, or unnecessary, and this 1 will at- 
tempt to prove, by a brief examination of each of them. 

The first great subject to which our attention at this 
Congress is to be called. Arises out of the pledge* which 
Mr. Monroe is supposed to have given, "not to permit 
" any foreign Power to interfere in the war between 
^* Spain and her colonies," and it appears, from the 
correspondence, to be the special object af the new 
States to get us to enter into treaties to redeem that 
.^pledge, according to the construction they have chosen 
to put uponcit, and in which, I am sorry to add, the Ex- 
ecutive seems to have acquiesced. Mr. Obregon tells 
us that the United States are only expected tatake part 



*In relation to the SUPPOSED pledge made by the United 
States to prevent colonisation in America, and also to prevent 
the intecfeience of any European nation in the present contest, 
there are two important documents before the House of Re- 
presentatives which were not before the Senate, viz : ' 1 . The 
better from Mr. Adams to Mr. Anderson, dated 27th May, 
•1823, in which the policy of this Government is fully explained 
on that subject. 2. The message of the President to the House 
of Representatives, in which he goes into an ex{>li^ation of bis 
ll>reseat views. 



T5 



in those matters which the *' late adtmnistratioji pmnted' 
ow/ as bein^ of general interest, for tvhich reasouy" says 
he, "one of the subjects which will occupy ihe atten- 
" tion of the Congress will be the resistance or opposition 
^* to the interference of aity nsrnvLd nation in the question 
" and 7i;ar of indepeficlence beiween t:ie new Pow^^rs of 
•* the continentand Spain;" and "tliat, as the Fovi'^ehs 
** OF Ameuica are of accord as to resistance^ h be- 
*' hoves them to dis<:uss the means of giving to that re- 
" sisiance all possible force, that the evil may be met, 
'* if it cannot'be avoided ; and ilie only means of accom- 
" plishing this obj^c* is by a prc^oious concert as 'o the 
" mode in which each ofthemgliall lend its co-operalion: 
'* for, otherwise, resistance would operate partially, and 
*' in a manner much less certfiifi unci effective. 

*' "I'he opposition to Col'mizaii&n in- America, by the 
•• European Powers, will be another of the questions 
" which may be discussed, aad which is in like predica- 
*' ment with the fore^going.'*' 

Mr. Salazar holds language, on this subject still more 
explicit. 

Now I do positively deny that Mr. Monroe ever 
pledged thisnation to go to war or make treaties to pre- 
vent the interference of any Etiropean nation in thaprc" 
sent contest. 1 deny that he had a right to make any such 
pledge ; and most of all, do I deny that any sanction has 
been given to such an idea by the Senate, the House of 
Representatives — by the States, or by the People of the 
United States. The language of Mr. Monroe is ex- 
tremely vague and indefinite. I'hat great and good 
man well knew that he had no power to use any but a 
moral force on that question ; and beyond this moralin- 
fluence over the councils of the nations of Europe, he 
neither attempted nor desired to gp. He well knew — - 
every intelligent man in the United States knows — that 
this nation is not now,.and never has been, prepared to 
go to war for the Independence of South America. The 
new States have always carried with tliem our warmest 
wishes for their success — but beyond the indulgence of 
a sincere and friendly sympathy, we hav^ never been 
willing to proceed. Mr. Monroe's declaration, 1 repeat, 
was intended to produce a moral effect abroad ; he de- 
signed it for the atmosphere of Europe, and therefore 
it was couched in such terms that, while it did not com- 
mit us to any overt acts, it leftL foreign nations under a 
vague impression of what we might do, if the event al- 
Juded to should ever happen. The substance ot Mr. 
Monroe's statement was, " that bs should consider any 



J 6 

•■ attempt on tlieir part (the powers of Europe) to ex m 
*' tend their system to any portion of this hemisphere, 
'' asdang-erous to our peace and safet)%*' and as "thet 
" manifest itjon of an unfriendly disposition towards thcj 
"'* United States." Itjs obvious that we are left by this 
pledge altogether free to act in any emergency ac- 
cording" to circumstances and a <;s.nse of our own inte- 
rests. We have incurred no obligations to others by the 
declaration; and it is our pol cy to incur none. But it . 
r.ow appears that (he new States have conceived them- 
selves entitled to our aid whenever foreign interference 
shall be threatened, and (what is truly unfortunate) it 
further appears that the new Administration have ac- 
knowledged their claims, and admitted our obligations ; 
they have acted, and are now about to act, on the- pre- 
sumption that ^he Spanish Amencan States may right- 
fully cl.iimj and that we are bound to grant, our assist- 
jince against all nations who may •* hereafter interfere 
*' in any way whatever in <he question and war of Inde- 
*"'pendence." Nay, so far have our Government gone' 
in this respect, that they have actually claimed commeTi 
cial privileiies from these States on the ground that we 
are to be considered as ** one of the American Nations,**^ 
and "within the pale ©fthe great Amesi&an System;'' 
that we are " prepared to bear tlie brunt of the contest 
*' which will arise should any foreign Power attempt to 
** interfere." To shew how far our Government have 
proceeded in tiiis cou,rse, I must be permitted to read a 
i'G:\v passages from the documents before us. In tha 
letter of our Minister to Mexico to the Secretary of 
flate, dated 28th September, 1825,, after giving an ac- 
rcuntof the difficulties which had arisen i'l making a 
tieaty.wkli Mexico, in consequence of the desire of that 
(lovernmenl to introduce. an article putting it in their 
power to grant special commercial privileges to the 
other Spanish American States, lie informs us t lat lie 
insisted that we sliaulcji be entitled to simitar privilageSj 
because *' we were bound lo them by similar fraternal 
ties." To some objections urged against our claims on- 
the ground that we had not yet taken part in the war, 
<>ur Minister replied in the follgwitig woj^ds, viz. " To 
*• these observations 1 replied, that, against tlie power of 
'•Spain they had given sufficient proof that th<-y re- 
** qiiii:ed no assistance, and tie United Slates had pledg- 
'■^ ed theitisdves not to permit an^ other Fs-Mer to iiiter,- 
** fere either with their Independence or form of Go- 
*' vernment, and that, as in the event of such an attempi. 
*" being made by the Powers of Europe, v,e would be 



£1 



sini^le wise and safe rule, either for the States In which. 
3t exists, or for the Union. It must be considered and 
treated entirely as a domestic auEsTiow. With respect 
to foreigl'n Nations, the languajje of the United States 
oupht to be, that it concerns the peace of our own politi- 
cal family, and therefore we cannot permit it to be 
touched; and in respect to the slave-holdln|y States, the 
only safe and constitutional .e^rouod on which they can 
stand, is, that they will not;permit it to be brought into 
question either by their sister States, or by the Federal 
Government. It is a matter, Mr. President, for ourselves. 
To touch it at all, is to violate our most sacred rit^hts — to 
put in jeopardy o«r dearest interests^— the peace of our 
countiy — ^the safety of our families, our altars, and our 
firesides. Sir! on the question of our slave institutions, 
so often incidentally mentioned, I will take this opportu-, 
nUy, once for all, to declai-e, jn a few words, . my own 
feelings and opinions. It is tsa subject to which I al- 
ways adveit with extreme reluctancCj, and never, except 
A when it is forced upon me. On the present occasion the 
^*i»bject has been forced upon our consideration, and when 
called upon to give my sanction to the discussion by our 
Ministers, (in c'onne©*i»n with a foreign Congress,) of 
questions so intimately connected with the welfare of 
those whom I represent^ I ;cannot consent to be sileuto 
On the slave question, my opiiiion is this: I, con? 
sider our rights in that species of property as not 
even open to discussion, either here or elsewhere; and 
in respect to our duties, (imposed by our situation,) we 
are not to be taught them by fanatics, reUgious or poli- 
tical. To call into qiiestion our rights, is grossly to vio- 
late them — to attempt to instruct us on this subject, is to 
insult us — to dare to assail our institutions is wantonly to 
invade our peace. L»et me solemnly declare, once for 
all, that the Southern States never will permit, and ne- 
ver can permit, any interference, whatever, in their do- 
mestic concerns, and that the very day on which the un- 
hallowed attehipt shall be matje by the authorities of the 
Federal Government,vve will consider ourselves as dri-= 
ven from the Union. Let the consequences be what 
they may, they never can be worse than such as must 
inevitably result trom sufferings rash and ignorant in- 
terference with, our do n)estic> peace and tranquillity. 
But while I make these declarations, I must be permit- 
ted to add, that I apprehend no such viol <tion of our con- 
stitutional rights. I believe that this House is not dis- 
posed.and that the great body of our intelligent and patri- 
otic fellow citizens in the other States have no inelina- 



tion, whatever, to interfere with lis. There are partie^i^ 
indeed, composed, some of them of fanatics, and others 
of political aspirants, who are attempting-, vainly I hope, 
to turn tlie current of ijopular opinion against us' These 
men have done us -much harm . already, and seem still 
fatally bent upon mischiefi But if we arc true to our- 
selves we will have nothing to fear. Now, sir, if it is, the 
policy of the States not to suffer this great question to 
be touched by the Federal Government, surely it must- 
be the policy of this Government, exercising a paternal 
care over every member of the political family, not to ' 
suffer foreign Nations to interfere with. it. It is "their im- 
perative duty to shun discussion with them— and to avoid 
all treaty stipulations, whatever, on any point connected 
directly, or remotely, with this greatqnestion. It is a 
subject of too delicate a nature— too vitally interesting" 
to us, to be discussed abroad. On this subject we com'- 
mitted an error w^ien we entered into treaties with 
Great Britain and Colombia for the suppression of the 
siave trade. That error has been happily corrected. • 
The first treaty has failed, and the second was nearly 
unanimously rejected by this body. Our policy then is 
now firmly fixed — our course is matked out With no- 
thing connected with shivery can we consent to treat* 
with other Nations, and least of all ought we to touch 
the question of the independence of Hayti in conjunc- 
tion with Revolutionary Governments, whose own his- 
tory affords an^x^mple scarcely less fatal to our repose. 
Those Governments have proclaimed the principles of 
♦•liberty and equality," and have marched to victory 
under the banner of " universal emancipation." You 
find men of color at the head of their Armies, in their 
Legislative Halls, and in their Executive Departments. 
They. are looking to Hajti, even now, with feelings of 
the strongest confraternity, and show by the very docu- 
Tnen^ts before us, that they acknawledge her to be inde- 
pendent, at the very mament when it is manifest to all 
the World beside, that she has resumed her Colonial sub- 
jection to France. Sir, it is altogether hopeless that we 
could, if we would, prevent the acknowledgment of 
Hayticn independence by the Spanish American States^, 
and I am constrained to add that 1 must doubt, from the 
instruments to be employed by our Government, whe= 
ther they mean to attempt to do so. We are to send, it 
seems, an honest and respectable man,,but a distinguish, 
ed advocate of the Missouri restriction — an acknowledg- 
ed abolitionist — to plead the cause of the South, at the 
Congress of P,anania. Our policy, with regard to Haytij 



4s plain. We never can acknowledge her Independence, 
Other States will do as they please — but let us take the 
hiffh ground, that these questions belong to a class, which 
the peace and safety of a large portion of our Union for- 
bids us even to discuss. Let our Government direct all 
our Ministers in South America and Mexico, to protest 
against the Independence oPHayti:* But let us not go 
Into counsel on the slave trade and Hayti. These are 
subjects not to be discussed any where. There is not 
a Nation on the Globe with whom I would consult on 
that subjeet, and least of all, the new Republics. 

I proceed next to consider the great object i, which 
seems to lie so near to the hearts of some of our states- 
men,) of building up what they are pleased to call ** an 
AMERICAN SYSTEM*'— 'terms wMch, when applied to our 
domestic policy, mean restriction SLndrrwnopolt/, and when 
applied to our foreign policy, mean " entangling allian- 
ces'* — both of them the fruit of that prurient spirit 
which will not suffer the nation to advance gradually in 
the development of its great resources, and the fulfil- 
ment of its high destinies, but would accelerate its 
march by the most unnatural and destructive stimulantSo 
*• As Europe, (says Mr. Canas,) has formed a continen- 
*' tal system, America should form a system for herself.'" 
" The mere assembUng, (says Mr. Salazar,) of the Con- 
" gress, by shewing the ease with which America can 
" combine, will increase our political importance.'* In 
plain terms, Mr President, we are called upon to form a 
HotT ALt-iANCE 071 this sldc ©/"Meiyfl^tfrjas a counterpoise 
to the Holy Alliance on the other side of it. Are the 
People of this country prepared for that? What is 
there in the history or character of the Holy Alliance 
that makes it a fit subject for our imitation ? This com- 
bination of nations at peace, to maintain certain princi- 
ples and institutions, contains the most atrocious viola- 
tion of the natural and social rights of man that the world 
has ever seen. It is wrong— most fatally wrong — and 
it makes no difference, in reason or justice, what the 
.principles:to be maintained are. It is of the essence of 
National Independence, that every country shouM be 
left free to adopt, and to change its .principles and its 

* The President, in his message to the Senate, mentions 
neither the slave trade nor Hayti, but they are mentioned in 
the documents, which accompany thai; message, as questions 
which were to form subjects ^deliberation at the Congress af 
Panama. This was all the light the Senate possessed on the 
subject. In the message to the House, the matter is presenter! 
in a light somewhat different. 



M 



-policy according" to its own views of its own interests. 
and from the very bottom of my soul, I abhor the idea of 
combinations amongf sovereign States, for any purpose 
whatever Great Britain, the only nation in Europe 
that possesses the shadow of freedom, has refused to 
join the Holy Alliance. I hope we shall follow her ex- 
ample in having nothinj^todo vvith this "greatAmerican 
confederacy.*^ Mr. Canning<leclared that such an alli- 
ance was unconstitutional — and surely, "if it was so in 
Great-Britain, it must be so here, 

I come now, Mr. President, to the last subject speci- 
fted by the South American Ministers, in which we are 
expect .id to take a part, and which is strongly relied 
upon here as constituting in itself a decisive inducement 
for our sending Ministers to the Congress of Panama— I 
mean the fate of Cuba. Now, sir, I have on this point 
the authority of the President himself, that neither he 
nor his Cabinet considered this question as furnishing 
any reason in favor of this mission. If the President or 
his Cabinet had supposed -it material, he would have 
stated it to us a^ one of the reasons which rendered the 
mission desirable. But neither in his message, nor in 
the documents which accompanied it, did he say one 
■word about Cuba ; and all our information on the sub- 
ject has been extracted by the call for information made 
by the Senate on 3d January fast. And yet no man can 
deny that this is one of the most interesting and impor- 
tant topics connected with the subject. But, sir, the 
fact is, that the Executive is unfortunately so commuted, 
in relation to Cubaj, as to leave themselves bound hand 
and foot, deprived of the power of taking a single step 
that could be productive of any beneficial results ; and 
therefore, fio doubt it was, that the President did not 
deem it important to mention the subject to us at all. 
On examining the documents now before us, it will ap- 
pear, that while our Government lias taken the bold 
ground in relation to Russia, Fralice, and Great Britain, 
that they " they ivill not pernut any nation except Spain, 
*• to take Cuba, under any circumstances whatever," 
they have, in relation to the South American States, de- 
clared expressly that we cannot interfere. Though the 
interests of the United States would be much more 
deeply affected by the possession of Cuba, by any of 
the new States than by France, or even by Russia, yet, 
■while in relation to the latter, we thrown ourselves fear- 
lessly into the breach, and have declared—-** we will 
not permit them to act" — with respect to the former, 
" we can see no ground on which we can forcibly inter- 



23 



fere." Mr. Clay, in his letter to Mr. Middleton, 26th 
December, 1825, says — " On this strbject it is proper we 
*' should be perfectly understood by Russia. For oar»' 
*• selves, we desire no change in the possession of Cuba, 
•* as has been heretofore stated. TVe cannot alloxv a 
"transfer of the Island to any European Power. But if 
** Spain should refuse to conclude a peace, and obsti- 
** nately resolve on covftinuing- the war, although we do 
*• not desise that either Colombia or Mexico should acquire 
** the Island of Cuba , the President cannot see any justiji- 
*' able ground i)n tohich xoe can foixible interfere. Upon 
** the hypothesis of an unnecessary protraction of the 
'* war, imputable to Spain, it Ts evident that Cuba will 
** be her only point d'appui, in thjs hemisphere. How 
** CAN WE INTERPOSE ou that suppositioH, against the par- 
** ty clearly having right on his side, in order to restrain 

" or DEFEAT A tAWFUE OPERATrON OF WAR ? If thc WSf 

*' against the Islands should be conducted by those Re- 
*• publics in a desolating manner ; if, contrary to all 
" expectation, they should put arms into the hands of 
'* one race of the inhabitants to destroy the lives of ano- 
•• ther ; if, in short, they should countenance and en- 
" courage excesses and examples, the contagion of 
" which, from our neighborhood, would be dangerous 
** to our qui'^.t and safety; the Government of the United 
*' States might feel itself called upon to interpose its 
" power. But it is not apprehended that any of those 
" contingencies will arise, and, consequently, it is most 
** probable that the United States, should the war con- 
" tinue, will remain hereafter, as they have been hereto- 
*' fore, neutral observers of the progress of its events. 

" You will be pleased to communicate the contents of 
" this despatch to the Russian Government. And as, 
'* from the very nature of the object which has induced 
** the President to recommend to the Governments of 
" Colombia and Mexico a suspensiori nf their expeditions 
"against the Spanish Islands, no definite ^me could be 
" suggested for the duration of that suspension, if it should 
"be acceded to, it must be allowed, on all hands, that 
"it ought not to be unnecessarily protracted"* 

♦In relation to Cuba and Porto Rico^ the President's raes« 
sage to the Senate, and the documents which accompanied it 
did not mention them at all. In answer to ihe call for infor. 
mation, made by the Senate on 3d January, the President com» 
snunicated a number of documents, some of which touched 
Ihis subject. Among thera, a letter from Mr. Clav to Mr. 
Middleton, dated 26lh December, 1825, and which has not 
been communicated to the House of Repi^sentuUves. That Iet« 
3 



2-6 



III accordance with these views, Mr. Clay writes to? 
Mr. Salazar, 20 h December, 1825 -"The President 
*' believes that a suspension for a limited time of the sail- 
** ingof the expedition which is understood to be fitting 
*• out at l-'arthag-ena, or of any other expedition which 
*• may be contemplated ag-ainst either of those Islands, 
** (Cuba and Porto Rico) by Colombia or Mexico, would 
*' have a salutary influence on the great work of peace.'* 
And again- •' he expresses the hope that the Republic 
*' of Colombia will see the expediency in the actual pos- 
"ture of afl'airs of forbearing to attack those Islands, 
** until a sufficient time has elapsed,to SLScevlaiin the result 
*' of the pacific efforts which the great powers are be- 
** lieved to be now making on Spain." Well, that time 
has elapsed — the result is ascertained. The mediation 
has failed — and the Executive stands fatally pledged — 
not to " interpose" to defeat " a lawful operation of 
war" on the part of those " who have right on their 
side," unless indeed the **ma?z??ec" of conducting that 
operation, should induce us to change our position, and 
this, says the Secretary, *' is not apprehended." 

Thus then, it manifestly appears that our faith is 
plighted,and that we have acknowledged the high obli- 
gations of duty not to interfere, unless, indeed, the 
slaves should be excited to murder their masters, and 
then, says Mr. Clay, perhaps we mi^ht ,- and; as to the 
invasion, all we have felt ourselves authorized to ask is, 
a small delay in the sailing of the expedition, only until 
the effect of our interposition with Russia shall be ascer- 
tained — of the total failure of which we are now official- 
ly informed. I repeat therefore, our Executive has 
forever closed the lips of their Ministers on this subject, 
and there is no prefnce for supposing that we can now 
interfere to prevent the invasion of Cuba and Porto RicOo 



ter, among other important matters, contains the very remark- 
able passasje above quoted, shewing that our Government had 
taken the grounfl that we cmdd not interfere to prevent the in- 
vasion of these Ishuds by the Spanish Araeriean States, while 
on the other hand we had determined " not to permit anj" 
European Nation, except Spain, to take them under any cir- 
cumstances whatever." 

This passage, connected with the two others above qnotedj^ 
from Mr. Clay's letter to Mr. Salazar, dated 20th December, 
1825, was the foundation of the argument in the Senate, on this 
pointo 

The President, in his message to tlie House, liowever, inti' 
mates that our efforts at the Congress may be directed to pre- 
Tent the invasion of Cuba by the Spanish American States^ 



Nothing remains for us now, if, indeerl, any thing" 
can be done, but for Coiigress to interpose thtrir 
authority in preventing the Executive from carrying' 
their vie-ii's into efllct, and tlu-.t itU.erj)os!tion will not 
take place by confirming this mission. The true Con- 
fcthutional ground is, that the President lias no right ttj 
pledge this nation, either as to our not permitting any 
foreign E'lropean nation to take Cuba, or as to tliere be- 
ing no ground to interfere to prevent its capture by the 
new Republics. 1 would change cur position, at least 
so far as to declarr-, that tlie South Arnt-rican Sti tes 
shoidd n( t be perm.tted to take i^, or to revolutionize 
it. t5u% as the qutbtion now presents itself as connected 
with tb.is mission, we can accomplish no gnoti, and may 
Involve ouselvts in difficulties, by counselling with those 
^'ho are merely to settle the -mode oi' co-operation in the, 
invasion of Cuba and Foito Rico— a measure already de- 
cided on, and against which our Government liave 
bound themsielves not to interfere. It is in vain to say th:it 
the Ex cutive has only disclaim^ d forcible interference. 
No other could be efllectual. For a nation to disclaim 
the ultima ratio, :s to surrender the point in dispute. 
There is no such disclaimer as to Europe. There, '* we 
will not permit ;" here, " we cannot forcibly interfere." 
But we have gone further. We have stated expressly 
to the new States, that we only ask delay, and nothing 
but delay 5 and that to " a day certain," and now past. 

As to the other objects of this Congress, specified in 
the inVitatlonf-', tliere is one answer to them all—they be- 
long to ordinary diplomacy, and will be better and more 
speed }y accomplished by oar ministers to these new- 
States, than by going ii.to a Congress of their deputies, 
whose attention must be chiefly engrc&sed by belliger- 
ent operations and local objects. 

It only remains for me to notice the additional sub- 
jects specified by the President. He considers this mis- 
sion necessary to prevent the new States from granting 
special favors to Spain and to each other. The treaties 
now sul^mitted to us show, that these States have deter- 
mined not to grant any privileges to Spain; and wish 
respect to eacli other, we have already formed treaties 
with some of them in terms of the most perfect recipro- 
city, and, with the only State with wiiigh we have had 
the least difficulty (Mexico) our latest accounts leave no 
doubt of their being speedily removed. 

The President next tells us that it is impoitant to esta- 
blish the principles and restrictions of reason on the ex- 
tent of blockade— bnt surely, sir, these and similar ob-^ 



28 



jeqts are to be attained by treaties negotiated iu the or- 
dinary way. They require no such extraordinary and 
questionable proceeding- as a mission to this Congress. 

We are next informed by the President that it will be 
one of cur objects to inculcate on the new States the 
principles of religious liberty,* and some hints are thrown 
out of an indirect influence th:it may be exerted over 
Iheir councils. If, Mr. President, it is against the spirt 
of our Constitution to interfere in any way with the re- 

* On the subject of rkhgion-, the President was understoody 
iii the Senate, to recoraraend an attempt to alter the Constitu- 
tioii of the new Stales on that point, but in his message lo the 
House of l{('presentati%'cs, he limits the object to the obtaining 
for our c'ti^ens the right of worshipping according lo iheir own 
consciences— a right which is secured to them in all the trea- 
ties already made wilh those States, and which it is presumed 
t-'an, in the ordinary course of negotiations, be obtained from all 
of them. The following are the passages in the messages of 
the President to the two Houses on this subject. 

To the Senate the President said : 

" Thei-e is yet another subject upon which ivithout entering 
into any treaty, tlie moral influence of the United States raay, 
perhaps, be exerted with beneficial consequences at such a 
meeting— i/ie advancemeiit of religious liberty. Some of the 
Southern nations are, even yet, so far under the dominion of 
prejudice, that they have incorporated, with their political con- 
stitutions, an exclusive church, without toleration of any other 
than the dominant sect. The abtauloiiment of this last bad^e 
of religious bigotry and oppression may be pressed more efFect- 
ually by the united exertions of those who concur in the princi- 
ples of freedom of conscience, upon those who are yet to be 
convinced of their justice and wisdom, than by the solitary ef- 
forlr, of a minister to any one of the separate Governments." 

To the House of Representatives, he says : 

"' And lastly, the Congress of Panama is believed to present 
a fair occasion for urging upon all the nev/ nations of ihe South, 
the just and liberal principles of religious liberty. Not by any 
interference, whatever, in their intei-nal concerns, but by 
claiming for our citizens, -whose occupations of interests may 
call them to occasional residence in their territories, the ine ti- 
mah\e pnvilege of -ioorshippi}ig thth Creator according to the 
dicLtJtes of their own consciences. This privilege, sanctioned 
by the customary law of nations, and secured by treaty stipu- 
ialiotis in numerous national compacts ; secured even to our 
own citizens in liie treaties wilh Colombia, and with the Fede- 
ration of Central America, is yet to be obtained in the other 
South American States and Mexico. Existing prejudices are 
still struggling against it, which may perhaps be moi-e suc- 
cessfully combalied at this general meeting, than at the separata 
Seats of Government cf each llepublie." 



so 

iigion of olU* ovrn Peoptej I should conclude It must be 
altogether foreign to our policy to interfere with the re- 
ligion of other nations. We both believe ourselves to 
be right, and I know of no power but that of the Al- 
mighty which can decide between us. Besides, sir, is 
it not obvious that an> attempt to acquire influence over 
the councils, or to regulate the religious policy of the 
new States, must have a tendency to interrupt the 
friendly relations now existing between us, in tl»e culti- 
vation of which the President assures us, he found the 
last and decisive inducement for accepting the invita- 
tion. Nothing, to mv mind, can be clearer, than that 
this mission must, either terminate in an idle ceremony, 
or our ministers will deeply wound the sensibilities of 
the new States; unless, indeed, Uiey shall be authorized 
. to enter into stipulations inconsistent with our neutrali- 
ty and fatal to tmr interests. Look at the questions to 
be submitted to their consideration. On every one of 
them our deputies must refuse to act, or, by acting, com- 
mit the country. . , . , 

I have given to this subject, Mr. President, the most 
dispassionate consideration, and 1 am free to confess, 
that, whether I consider tiie measure itself, the form of 
the invitation, orthe course which has been pursued m 
relation to it,ipy mind is filled with the most unqualified 
astonishment. Tuat the President should have commit- 
ted himself— committed us, and committed the nation; 
and that the question should have been brought before 
us, under the circumstances to which I shall now brief- 
ly advert, will form, it appears to me, a curious page in 
the history of this country, which will, herealter, be 
referred to wit!) peculiar interest. 

The first, and only intimation, it appears from the 
statement of the Secretary of State, made to out Govern- 
inent on the subject of this mission, was verbally made 
some time *' during the last spring." It is true that the Mm- 
ister or'.>olombia speaks of" some verbal conferre7icesy*^'^ 
and the Minister of Mexico mentions ** conversations;'* 
but Mr. Clay ussures us there was but one such confer- 
ence. A verbal answer was given by the President, in 
which he intimates a disposition to accept the invitation, 
provided the subjects io be discussed— ihe powers of the 
Ministers., and *' the mode of the organization and ac- 
tion of tlie Congress/' shall be previously adjusted. 

On the 2nd and 3d of November following, the an« 
swers wer<i received to this demand, and, although they 
did not contain any compliance with the President's rea- 
sonable wishes, he held the subject under advisement 



30 



until the 30th of November, (six days only before the 
meeting of Congress) when he notified the Ministers of 
Mexico and Colombia that he had determined at oxce 
to accept of the invitaiion. The Minister of Guatemala 
gave no invitation before the 14th of Novemberj and the 
answer to him bears date the 30th of the same monthj 
and accepts without any qualification. Thus far several 
material circumstances suggest themselves to our cons> 
deration : the first is, that the invitation should have 
been given originally by but ttuo of the Republics to be 
represented at the Congress, and that to this day we have 
not heard a word from three of these powers. The next 
is, that all the other powers to be represented, had 
formed solemn conventions among themselves, under^ 
■which the Cangresa is to be convened, and that no such 
stipulation has been made with us. But the most im- 
portant circumstance of all is, the dct-rminaton of the 
President to commit himself to the acceptance of this 
invitaUop, six days only before the meeting of Congress, 
I will not believe, Sir, that the President could have de- 
sired to influence the decision of the Senate by such a 
proceeding. Yet we do know, that the idea of the em- 
barrassment to which he will be subjected, should tire 
Senate refuse to ratify his proceedings, constitutes the 
It-ading reason with many gentlemen here, and the only 
effici^'nt one w.th several, for confirming the nomina- 
tions. Six days after giving his answer to the South 
American ministers Congress met, and the President in 
his opening message stuted, "that the invitation had 
be' n accepted and ministers 7^7/ be commissioned.''-— 
The claim thus set up to send these ministers by his own 
authority, is the only plausible reason that can be given 
for its premature acceptance; and I am compelled to 
conclude, that at this time the President did not intend 
to ask tiie consent of the Senate except to the appro» 
priation. From the 6th to the 26th of December, though 
the measure had been resolved on, we heard no more up- 
on the subject, and yet we have since been told that the 
Congress was actually in session on the 3d of Nov. last,* 



*Iu Mr. Obregon's letter to Mr. Clay, of 3(1 November, 
j825, he slates " that the Co'igress is to be assembled at Pana- 
*' ma. at which. City the Representatives T om Colofjjbia, Peru, 
" Gaatemala, awl Mexico, will have already aiTlvedatthe date 
"of this" — 3il N"ovember. The President, however, did not 
make his nominations till 26di December, near two months af- 
ter. ITie Conventions show that the Congress is, from its na- 
ture, as well as its duties, permanent. It is to serve as the 
great coitosel daring the war, aad an interpreter of treaties, §igp«r 



SI 



and our delays have been complained oF, how jusily 
we shall presently see. During this interval, the right 
of the President to commission ministers of his own free 
will, and without consulting the Senate, was boldly and 
publicly asseited, and the ingenious witers in the pub- 
lic journals(under whose high displeasure we have fallen) 
contended " that the Senate would take new ground, if 
they undertook to question it/* 

Though there is not a line or a principle in any part 
of the Constitution which authorizes the President, 
either expressly or by implication, to appoint foreign 
Ministers, without the advice and consent of the "^enate, 
and though the distinction between the accredited agents 
of the Government bearir.g cotnmission&f and the mere 
private and personal agents of the I^resident, is too ob- 
vious to escape the most superficial observation, yet the 
argument urged, was, that, as Mr. Monroe had appoint- 
ed private agents to visit South America, Mr, Adams 
had a right to commission Ministers to attend a Con- 
gress, At length, however, on the 26th of December, 
the President sent us his Message, asking for our advice 
and consent ; he accompanied it by a clear and une- 
quivocal assertion of fns right to act without our con- 
sent. His words are — '* Although this measure was 
** deemed to be within the constitutional competency of 
** the Executive, I have not thought proper to take any 
*' step in it before ascertaining that my opinion of its ex- 
" pediency will concur with that of both branche- of 
" the Legislature : first, by the d'^cision of the Senate 
" upon the nominations to be laid before them ; and, 
*' secondly, by the sanction of both Houses to the ap- 
** propriations.*' 

Now, as it was the intention of the President to obtain 
the opinion of both Houses on " the expediency of the 
mission," his requiring this of the Senate by a vote on 
the nominations, and of the House of Representatives by 
a subsequent vote on the appropriation^ \\2iS a measure 
singularly unfortunate for obtaining an unbiassed opinion 
on those subjects. The form in which the question was 
submitted, hardly presented an alternative to eitlier 
House. The vote on the nominations does not necessa- 
rily involve the expediency of the mission. Suppose 
we should reject tliese gentlemen — may not the Exa- 
cutive construe it into an objection personal to the itidi= 
viduals, and send us other namt s to-morrow ? And 
should we confirm the nominations, do we not know 
that many members of the other House will then cansi- 
der themselves bound by a constitutional duty to make 



the appropriation ? I feel that the course wliich ha# 
been pursued prechides the possibility of now obtaining 
an unlsiassed expression of the opinion of either House, 
while, if the President, without accepting the invitation, 
had submitted the question of expediency to the two 
Houses of Congress by calling for an appropriation, 
such an opinion would have been secured. In his Mes- 
sage to the Senate of the 26th December, the President 
gave us nothing but the bare invitations and acceptance, 
with a few remarks of his own, and left us altogether in 
the dark on every other important particular. 

This message having been referred to the Commit- 
tee of Foreign Relations, that committee on the 3d Jan- 
uary, presented a resolution calling on the President for 
further iiiformation on the sjubject. 

On the 13th January, an answer was given to this call, 
covering the conventions between the Spanish Ameri- 
can States, and an extensive and highly interesting 
correspondence, between Mr, Clay and Messrs Salazar 
and Obregon, and our ministers at St. Petersburgh,Paris, 
and Mexico. These documents, which cover 40 printed 
pages, shed so much light on the subject, that until we 
received them, the Senate may be truly said to have 
been groping in worse than Egyptian darkness. The 
belJi;^erent characte) of the Congress vas here so 
fully developed and clearly established, that, unless 
from the hope of peace, presented by the correspond- 
ence with ^Ir Middleton,! presume no question would 
have been then made that the acceptance of the invita- 
tion would give to Spain just cause of war. On this 
point, iiowever, we were lulled into security by the fact 
disclosed in that corresponflence, that our Government 
had invoked the mediation of Russia to bring about the 
recognition by Spain of the independence of her colo- 
nies and the confideji*" opinion expressed by Mr. Clay, 
that this mediation would be successful. It was obvious 
that if peace was about to take place, there would no 
longer be any force in the objection that the contemplat- 
ed mission wnuld violate our neutrality. Sir, did any 
m mber of this Senate believe, that at the very moment 
these cheering prospects of peace were held out to us, 
there existed in the Bureau of the Secretary of State, in 
Washington, conclusive evidence that these prospecfs 
were illusory — that at the very moment Mr. i-lay was 
despatching to us t!ie assurance that the mediation of 
Russia, would in all human probability be effectual with 
Spain, he had, in his own i^ands, the despatches of Mn 
Everett, our minister at Madrid, which demonstrated 



3^ 

that there was no hope of such a result? Such, sir, was 
»he fact, and it was disclosed to us under the call of the 
gentleman from New York, (Mr. Van Buren) who, con= 
sidering- it as somewhat srrange that while we are spe- 
eulating' on the prohability of a peace, we should not 
have communicated directly with the Spanish Govern- 
ment on the subject, resolved to ask for specific in for- 
mation.. The call was made on the 30th of January, 
and on 1st of February, the correspondence of Mr. Ev- 
erett beip.g' laid before us, all hopes of peace vanished, 
and the charm was instantly dissolved. 

There was not a j^enileman, I assert confidently, on 
this floor, who did not at once perceive and acknow- 
ledfje, that all hope of the success of our mediation was 
entirely gone. Count Nessehode had expressly stated 
to ^Ir. Middleton, that every thing would depend on the 
determination of the Spar/ish Government — so that it 
was obvious that all our hopes rested on their temper 
on this subject. Well, sir, Mr. Everett tells us that he 
made the Spanish Minister acquainted with our wishes 
and our mediation, and that, so fa* from hisreceiviJig-an 
answer to justify hope, the reply shut it out forever. 
The Mmister declares emphatically, that the King- we- 
ver xvill, under any circumsianceSf acknotvledge the Indc 
pendence of his revolted colonies ; that he would stand 
upon his right; that if reduced to as low a state as Louis 
the 18th, during the height of Napoleon's power, like 
him he would wait until Providence in good season 
should restore him his own. He repeats, again and 
again, and in every form, the fixed determination of the 
King never to surrender his rights to the colonies, under 
any circumstance whatever. Nor is this all: Mr. Eve- 
rett informs us fuither, that the s^ussian Minister acqui- 
esced in the justice of tliese views, and that England^ 
satisfied with the commercial advantages of her position» 
had ceased to interest herself in the question. Thus 
was ail hope shut out uttlie very time we were flattered 
by the second set of documents, wi'di the delusive expec- 
tation that peace was near at hand. Sir, let it be re- 
collected, that it was at the moment when we had 
called fo? and not yet received these most important 
doouibents, that we were chided for c?e/ay, and that a 
movemejit was made in the other Hou3e,by tiie coafiJen- 
tiiii friends of the Execut ve— that the administration 
pr sses opr-aed their batteries on this body collectively 
and individually; that Slate Legislatures were roused 
into aciiun ; and no means of coercion left untried to 
bring the Senate to an instant decision of the question 



34 



I thank my God, sir, that these efforts have s'gnally Tai]- 
ed, and that the Senate stood unmoved; and, thoug'h 
slander and misrepresentation have been bdsy witli our 
name^, it is nosv demonstrated tliat the dday which 
has occurred in tiie proceedinc;3 of this body has 
arisen cliiefly from the n-ecessity imposed upon us 
of makiniir repeated calls for important information, 
which was not communiCcited tj us in the first instance, 
and without which we should have been left in profoiuul 
ignorance of the true character of the proposed mission. 
The next important step in our proceeding's on this 
subject, was the rer^olution passed by the Senate on the 
15th February, that the question "oupfht to be discussed 
with open doorsy* unless the publication of the docu- 
meiits would be ** prejudicial to pendin.^ negotia- 
tionst^ and on this point information was respectfully re- 
quested of the Executive, the officer char.c^ed with all 
our nei^otiations. To this resolution, the President re- 
plied in the following message : 

"Washington-, 16th Feb. 1826. 
To the Senate of the United States : 

In answer to the two resolutions of the Senate, of the 
15th instant, marked (Executive,) and which I have re- 
ceived, I state, respectfully, that all the communications 
from me to the Senate, relating to the Congress at Pana- 
ma, have been made, like all other communications, up- 
on Executive business, in confidence^ and most of them 
in compliance with a resolution of the Senate, rt quest- 
ing them confidentially. Believing that the established 
«s«^eof free confidential communications between the 
Executive and the Senate, Qught^ for the public interest, 
to be preserved imimpaired, I deem it my indispensable 
duty to leav« to the Senate itself the decision of a ques- 
tion involving a departure, hitherto, so far as I am in- 
formed, without example, /?'o/rt that usage, and upon ike 
motives for which, not being informed of them, I do not 
feel myself competent to decide. 

JOHN Q'JIKCY ADAMS." 

1"he plain and obvious impoit of this message, di- 
verted of the diplomatic garb in which it is invested, »s, 
th:it we were bound by ihe confidence which had been 
imposed upon us by the Executive, (w!)o kindly rem nds 
us of what our usages are, wh&t ihe y ought to /&e— and 
that they ought not to be changed,) and white he leaves 
us free to act as we think proper, refuses to furnish us 
with the information on which alone we could act, and 
ijor which we had respectfully culled. The message 



35 



closes with an allusion to our motives on which the Pre- 
sident is restrained from commentinj^, because they were 
u iknown. Sir, I was one of those who believed that 
we could not, with a due regard to our own rights and 
the public interests, proceed to act upon the subject at 
all UMliJ the informatiori was furnished, which the Execu- 
tive alone possessed : for which we had respectfully call- 
ed, and which was necessary to enable us to decide on 
our own "rules of proceeding," a privilege expressly re- 
served to us by the Constituiion In this 1 have been 
overruled, and I must submit. I am, sir, further of opin- 
ion, t!iat we ought never to proceed until an answer is 
given by the President to the call made in the other 
House by his friends, (and it is to be presumed v.'ith the 
knowledge and consent of the Executive, ) because^ 
should the President give to that House publicly, all the 
infjormation we now possess, there would no longer be 
any reason for our proceeding with closed doors ,• and if 
he should give more, we ooght to possess that additional 
information before we come to a decision, and if less, we 
may consider what it would then become our duty to 
do. In these views we have also been overruled, and 
are constrained to submit. 

But, I beg pardon, sir; I am wandering from the ques^ 
tion, and have trespassed too long on the patience of the 
Senate. The whole question may be resolved into this : 
are we prepared now to depart from the fundamental 
policy of this country, never to interfere in the s^oncerns 
of other nations? Are we ready to embark our fate with 
that of the Spanish American Republic?? To become 
parties to an "American Confederacy," against the 
** European Confederacy?" Sir, it will not, it cannot be 
denied, that the proposed measure is entirely out of the 
course of ordinary diplomatic relations; it has no prece- 
dent but in tliat "great Alliance,'* profanely called 
" Holy," and equally offensive to God and to Man. 

We are about to violate the maxim of the Father of 
his Country, which enjoins upon us, as the most sacred 
of duties, *' 'o cultivate peace and honest friendship with 
**all nations, entangling alliances with none" — to equally 
violate the Ase and prudent policy of tlie late Presi- 
dent, of the benefits of which we have a glov^^ing picture 
from the pen of the Secretary of State, in the documents 
now on your table. *' Tlie United States, says he, have 
*' not, indeed, taken up arms in support of the indepen- 
"dence of the new Slates; but the neutrality which they 
*' have maintained has enabled them more efficaciously 
** to serve the cause of independence than they could 



^' f j^^"''" C- 



/■/ 



QQ 



^liave done by taking part in the war. Had they be- 
** come a belligerent, they would, probably, have drawn 
**into the war, on the other side, parties whose force 
** would have neuralized, if it had not overbalanced, 
*'* their exertions. B> maintaining neutral ground, they 
*' have entitled themselves to speak out, with effect, and 
"they have constantly so spoken, to the Powers of Eu^ 
^ rope. They disconcerted the designs of the Euro- 
a'pean alliance upon the new Stats, by the uncal^ulat- 
** ing declarations which they made, in the face of the 
** world. They w re the first to hasten to acknowledge 
"the independence of the Uni'ed Mexican States, and, 
*• by their example, drew after theni Great Britain." 

Shall we abandon this high and honorable ground to 
engage in a crusade, the end of which no hun.an being 
can foresee? Let it be remembered, that when, a short 
time prior to the meeting of Congress, it was rumored 
that this invitation had been given, and the determina- 
tion of the President was as yet unknown, 7iot one press 
in ad America, net one enlightened man oj any party, as far 
as 1 know, raised a voice in its favor. All, all, declared 
that the invitation would, of course;, be respectfully de- 
clined. What, sir, has occurred since, to produce any 
change in public opinion? Nothing absolutely nothing. 
Sir, my opinions on this subject have undergone no 
change, and, if thi- extraordinary mission must be sanc^ 
tlonedj I will wash my hands of it- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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